Topic: What is Castlevania for you?

[Neobelmont]

I'm not the best at this since it's really hard for me to describe it. But the feeling I got when I saw this scene in dracula's curse(there is a reason why this is my favorite game in the series  ) for the first time  I had a feeling that I could not explain even to this day concerning games.



This scene(With it's music, atmosphere, and that little man  looking at the cross) as well as the rest of the game helped me like games. Before I was scared of games almost hated them (I freaked out when Mario lost a life) Other game series helped as well like zelda and pokemon but this one scene will forever be in my brain till I die.

Cv III is the first castlevania I was introduced(my brother was is a cv fan who prefers the rpg ones I'm the complete opposite) to, GBA classics castlevania was my first owned one portrait of ruin was my second( I do tend to get mixed up between the two but I remember getting that gba box brand new) After portrait of ruin I started to really get back into the series and after acquiring most of the games I know what makes the series for me and while it's not the same feeling I got when I saw cvIII for the first time not even close it still defines cv for me and that is

1: It's always been about the Belmont clan vs Dracula. They are the main characters and when they disappeared I was like why have we not have a Belmont in any new games which is why one of the reasons why I loved Los is because I played as a belmont again.

2: Platforming after playing so many MV I got tried of them and no challenges(for the most part  ) in alot of the rooms but in the classics I was jumping and striking and multitasking like no tomorrow.

3: The music. For me music in the series is a big factor and I like all of the series soundtracks except for Mof I cannot remember one song that makes me go oh yeah, just .... ah no.....  The music in the series just blends well for me like one of my favorite songs in the series is new messiah in the crystal castle just so good. But for some reason I prefer that action focused
and even the 3d games music over the metroidvania ones like I prefer bloodlines soundtrack over symphony's soundtrack or that even if curse of darkness was lacking what saved it for me was that awesome sound track this game has so many goodtracks. Also Cv has made me want to learn how to play music. I play a keyboard and I'm going into piano 2 this upcoming semester so yeah I love the music in this series 

4: Artwork: I wish I could draw as well as any of the artist in the series but that's why I practice I may get there I may not but there will be result one day dang it 

5: Balance of difficulty: I don't agree with lvl1 handicaps I prefer a good balance of difficulty which the classic provided for me. It was hard yes but possible.

6: Skill over just pure grinding: This is what made me like the older ones and 3d ones instead of the RPG ones. With the exception of OOE And CotM you could just be so op that it takes the fun out of it if an other rpg cv was made take a page out of darks souls and make it just one +1 stat to one thing or something because one can get rusty that way I've seen people like this on CV:HoD like that it's not that hard to dodge an attack. I still remember how hard CV:III is and how many game over screens I got till I beat that level which brings me to my final reason

7: Satisfaction and endings: When I beat a classic game the endings were so awesome. Almost every single one of them I can recall like daylight... The MVs not so much. The only one I really remember was PoR's Richter ending that put a smile on my face and that's it. Satisfaction wise I was like okay PoR was swell but when I beat Dracula's curse I was like Oh....OH.... OH YEAH 

CV III made me like gaming PoR made me like CV again after beating all the rpg ones and playing most of the classic( no belmonts revenge or legends for me  ) The Belmont's and that difficulty along side great art and music makes cv to me and while I like most CV's those classic get me 

[Maedhros]

I loved when Belmonts were downplayed. Having them playable everytime was getting tiring. It was the same gameplay every fucking time. And since I never cared about story or other trivial things like that (gameplay was and still is my main focus while gaming, except it it is a RPG, even though I'm a completionist and end reading/doing everything that the game offers, even reading the story), having a guy that used a whip was really tiring.

Castlevania III was really cool, because it introduced other characters, with different styles of gameplay. That showed to me that they could make a game where the main character wasn't a whiping guy. And they did, with Bloodlines first (Eric Lecard), then Rondo (Maria was one of the main characters). Then Alucard and the others. For me, that was bliss.

It's not that I don't like Belmonts, but fuck... at least put some variation on the gameplay. They did some of that, with multidirectional whipping (which broke the subweapon system, so no really that good), item crash (that was amazing at the time)... but it really wasn't enough for me. So yeah... I don't even care if the game has or not a Belmont on it.

[Flame]

A whip wielding hero, Dracula, and a Castle, and strong classic horror/gothic influences.

That is Castlevania to me. That said, I'm open to change, and willing to see unique interpretations and visions on the matter. Im just as satisfied by a Classicvania, a Metroidvania, or a Modernvania/LoSvania.

[Trevorcard]

Growing up with Castlevania games on the Nes and Super Nes and Genesis I have a nostalgia for the whip wielding Belmonts who goes through annoying enemies, difficult platforming and maddening bosses to get to the end. SOTN introduced me to the notion that a game with a Non-Belmont could be good as well.

My prerequisites for a Castlevania game is a atmosphere of horror with challenging gameplay in a world in which a hero faces against the creatures of the night.

[chainsawmidget]

Castlevania isn't so much horror as it is the Halloween Special of videogames.  If it was a movie, it would be hosted by Elvira and show on late night TV. 

[X]

Castlevania isn't so much horror as it is the Halloween Special of videogames.  If it was a movie, it would be hosted by Elvira and show on late night TV. 

That sums up my personal feelings of Castlevania as well! To me it's like experiencing that thrilling Halloween nostalgia. You can literally feel it when the season is changing and the Halloween holiday is encroaching. you can't wait to dress up and go out trick or treating. Castlevania is just like that; An exciting Halloween action/adventure that you want to experience over and over again. At least with the old cannon anyways. With the new cannon it's like somebody just egged your house 

[A-Yty]

At least with the old cannon anyways. With the new cannon it's like somebody just egged your house 

Good old cannon.